Backyard Orchard News
Bee-Hold, The Eye of the Bee-Holder
Bee-hold, the eye of a bee-holder. When you have a "Bee Crossing" sign in your pollinator garden,...
"Bee Crossing" signs are favorites in pollinator gardens, not for the bees, but for the humans. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Sign of the times: A European wool carder bees (Anthidium manicatum) is surrounded by honey bees on the "Bee Crossing" sign. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of European wool carder bee nectaring on a blue spike salvia. The eye of a honey bee adds to this photo. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Ever Seen a Gulf Fritillary Laying an Egg?
Ever seen a Gulf Fritillary butterfly laying an egg? The Gulf Frit (Agraulis vanillae), an...
Gulf Fritillary Agraulis vanillae), an orangish-reddish butterfly of the family Nymphalidae, lays its eggs on its host plant, Passiflora. They often lay their eggs on the tendrils. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Silver-spangled wings of the Gulf Fritillary. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Up Close and Personal with a Yellow-Faced Bumble Bee
Sometimes they barely notice you. Such was the case of a yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus...
A yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, foraging on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia) in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, is oblivious to the photographer. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Hmm, the Mexican sunflower must be better over here. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bohart Museum Open Houses: Aug. 19 and Sept. 22
Mark your calendar! You won't want to miss the summer weekend open houses at the Bohart Museum of...
The live "petting zoo" is a popular place at the Bohart Museum of Entomology. This is a black velvet walking stick with red wings. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Bohart Museum of Entomology houses some 8 million insect specimens. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A Tattered, Torn and Tired Monarch
First monarch butterfly sighting of the year. A tattered and torn monarch--a male (as identified...
A tattered, torn and tired monarch nectars on a salvia in the Kate Frey Pollinator Garden at Sonoma Cornerstone. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The monarch stretches his wings. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Side view shows just how tattered and torn this male monarch is. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)